Chief of Party, Assess the Learners (YESA) Activity, Malawi

Company Profile: MSI, a Tetra Tech Company, is a Washington, DC metro area
international development firm with a 35-year history of delivering development
results across the world. Our core expertise is in the fields of monitoring and
evaluation (M&E), institutional development, public sector management,
governance and anti-corruption. MSI implements nearly 100 projects in 90
countries around the world such as Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Colombia, and Mexico. As one of the leading companies in our
field, MSI has partnered with more than 80 organizations across all sectors of
international development with clients ranging from large bilateral and
multilateral donors such as USAID, the World Bank and the UNDP to national and
local governments, NGOs, think tanks, foundations and universities. For more
information on MSI, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide

.com.

Proposal Summary:
MSI anticipates an upcoming proposal for a five-year project where the primary
purpose will be create a multi-level monitoring and evaluation system for the
National Reading Programme to assist the Government of Malawi’s (GoM’s) efforts
to improve the reading skills of Malawian students nationwide. The following
objectives will be the focal points: 1) National Reading Assessment instituted;
2) Universal school–level utilization of assessment strategies and techniques
for reading instituted; 3) Community-level capacity for the performance and
informed use of reading assessments instituted; and 4) Integration of reading
assessments into National Reading.

Position Summary:
MSI is seeking a long-term Chief of Party, with a solid track-record in leading
projects related to international development. The candidate will be a
development professional with at least 10 years of international development
programming and management experience, with the ability to recruit and
supervise short-term U.S., third country and local experts and strong
experience in monitoring & evaluation, preferably on USAID projects. The
Chief of Party will be MSI’s primary representative in the field and must be
capable of representing MSI effectively to USAID, the Government of Afghanistan
and other stakeholders. The proposed Chief of Party must have an outstanding
past performance reference/ record of successfully leading projects that are
similar in size and complexity.

Responsibilities:

Serve as a key focal point for USAID and partner staff
for monitoring and reporting.
Support USAID and its partners in the development of
their M&E systems.
Provide vision and strategic direction for the program.
Oversee overall project management, quality and timeliness
of deliverables, external representation, and overall coordination with
USAID/Malawi.
Direct and monitor implementation of activities within
the work plan, ensuring that activities are performed to a high
professional standard, effectively implemented and fulfill donor and the
organization’s requirements.
Lead the overall technical and financial performance of
the contract, including program planning, budgeting, and monitoring and
evaluation (M&E).
Provide direction on senior-level policy and technical
dialogue with the Ministry of Health and other government ministries and
units, working in staff as appropriate.
Ensure effective communication across the entire
project with team and relevant stakeholders.
Facilitate the development of results frameworks, logic
models and logical frameworks.
Provide technical assistance to USAID and its partners
in all aspects of the design and execution of USAID’s performance
management system.
Provide training and capacity building support to USAID
and Ministry of Education partners.

Qualifications:

Master’s Degree in education related area (ex. in
international education, non-formal and/or other alternative education
approaches, basic education, teacher training, and/or social/behavioral
sciences).
At least 5 (five) years demonstrated significant
relevant progressively increasing responsibility in managing activities of
similar scope in international development assistance, in a context
similar to Malawi. Significant relevant experience includes at least one
as COP position, or equivalent Program Manager function.
A demonstrated track record of achieving results in a
development context. Specific and relevant development outcomes achieved
as a result of the proposed COP’s leadership must be well documented by
the Contractor. Demonstrated management and supervisory experience of a
relevant scope and scale. The COP must have at least 5 (five) years of
progressively responsible supervisory work experience that involved direct
leadership of professional and support staff, oversight and evaluation of
staff performance and deliverables, and contract management.
Demonstrated leadership skills in working
collaboratively with other donors, host country institutions, and
international organizations.
Demonstrated track record of working in teams and
fostering partnerships. Effective partnerships and coordination with
relevant institutions and structures are critical to YESA’s success.
Specific instances when the COP has formed led or participated in relevant
partnerships must be well documented by the Contractor. • Leadership in
local capacity development. The COP must have a demonstrated ability to
provide oversight of local capacity development efforts, including working
with local partners to ensure adherence to all sub-award requirements.
The COP must have a demonstrated understanding of the
technical activities YESA will implement including improved capacity
building in monitoring and evaluation, experience working with and within
communities implementing activities of similar scope and scale, and a
strong sense of demonstrated work experience institutionalizing activities
with recipient governments. The COP need not be a recognized as an expert
in all of these areas but must have a combination of educational and work
experience that clearly demonstrates an ability to provide effective
overall technical leadership and oversight. Complementarity of technical
understanding with the other key personnel is essential.
A strong understanding of monitoring, evaluation and
learning. The COP need not be an ME&L expert but must possess
demonstrated experience in providing overall oversight for ME&L
systems and assuring data quality.
Strong communication abilities. Strong writing and
communication abilities are essential; the COP will hold ultimate
responsibility for the quality and timeliness of YESA reporting and
communication efforts.
Fluency in spoken and written English.
Strong analytic experience with and reporting of
performance data.
Proficient in MS Excel and PowerPoint.
Experience with data visualization products and
software, a plus.
Experienced Malawian candidates are preferred and
strongly encouraged to apply.